What makes a landlord? Ownership of real estate by US households

Households supply about three-quarters of US rental housing. The paper exam ines the real estate investment decision and the proportion of wealth inves ted in real estate. Hypotheses drawn primarily from the real estate finance literature about the role of wealth, expected inflation, human capital, in come tax rates, race, health, risk aversion and inheritance are tested agai nst data from the Health and Retirement Study. Wealth has a powerful non-li near effect on ownership of real estate, but ownership is negatively associ ated with human capital. Marginal tax rates, race and property gifts affect real estate investment; poor health, risk aversion and expected inflation do not seem to.